Excavating apparatus.



I. A. GREENWOOD. BXGAVATING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION-PILED 0GT.23. 1911.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHBET l.

w 5 E N W W THE NORRIS PETERS co PHOTO'LITH WASHING TON, n, H

I. A. GREENWOOD. BXGAVATING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED 001:. 2a. 1911.

1 1 1 4,255, Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. f .2 2 4 7 14/2/12 asses 1 22 ms 72 for B MQ Z THE NORRIS PETERS CO FHOTOVLITHJH WASHING roN. D r;

I. A. GREENWODD. EXCAVATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00w. 23. 1911.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 34 g zfzzw'zztary THE NORRIS PETERS co.. PHOTO-L|THO.. WASHINGTON. D. C

- of tunnels,

' To all whom it may concern:

v UNITED sTArrEs rArnnr 1 OFFICE. t J

IVAN A. GREENWOOD, or CLEVELAND, QHIO.

EXGAVATING APPARATUS.

- Be it known that I, IVAN A. GREENWOOD,

a citizen of the United States, residingat Cleveland, in the county of Guyahogaand State of Ohio, have invented a certain neW and useful Improvement in Excavating Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to excavating devices and has for its object the provision of a device which shall markedly facilitate and expedite the cutting away and removal of the clay, hardened quick-sand, and other earthy substances encountered in the driving sinking of 'caissons, and like engineering activities. Owing to'the fact that the space in such localities is constricted and the air is with dihiculty kept pure, it

has been impossible to employ steam, electricity, or other common sources of power and the work has customarily been done by hand atthe cost of great exertion andloss of time.

The object of the provision of extremely compact and eflicient means whereby the work of loosening the earthy substances can be performed by thev use of power agencies always accessible in connection with an undertaking of this character and which shall permit the "work to be carriedon much more rapidly than heretofore and with the employment of a smaller number of workmen- This result is attained by the use of new. and improved means for transforming fluid pressureinto a longitudinal pull adapted to be imparted to a cutting knife or' other earth-removing device, the fluid being employed being either steam, air or water as may be most convenient, and the construction and mode of operation of the devices whereby such advantageous results'are obtained being one of the important features of myinventionr In the drawlngs accompanying and 'form-" ing part of this application I have'illustrated one embodiment of my idea, thesame being the embodiment which I consider preferable,

together with the mode of use "ofthesame' under different conditions, although itis to be understood that such illustration is explanatory merely and that man'y. changes can be made therein both in form, size, proportions, and manner of use within 'thescope of my inventive idea.

present invention is the construction, arrangement :of parts,-

Specification of Letters latent. Oct; 20 1914 7 Application filed October 23, 1911'. serial No. 656,254. i

In thesedrawi'ngs, Figure 1 is a view of theend of a tunnel showing the manner of employing my improved excavating apparatus; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of acaissonillustrating a second. mode of employing my excavator; Fig. 3 1s a perspective View of a,

draw knife of the type preferably employed in tunnel work; Fig. his a plan view of my improved excavating apparatus, the cover being I removed and the remaining parts a front view thereof Figs. 7, 8, and 9, transverse cross-sectional views taken on the broken lines 7-7, S-8,' and 9-9, respec-' tively of Fig. 4:; Fig. 10 is a plan view of the basemember, all of the operating parts having been removed; FIQ; 111s a vertical sectional view throughaone form of a conconnection with myexcavator; Figs. 12 and 18 .are horizontal: cross sectional views taken on the broken lines 12-"12and 13-13, re-

spectively of Fig. 11; Fig. 14: is alongitu- 'dlllill' cross sectional View taken through the cylinder and illustrating the type of hydraulic jack which-I prefer to. employ in tunnel construction; Fig. 15 a. perspective view of the rack guide employed therewith;

thereof illustrated in operative position;

Fig. 5 1s 'a'rear endview thereof; Fig. 6 is trolling valve which may be employed in 16 1921- p spective View of 0 tion of the rack andhead.

Describing theuparts' by reference characters, 1 indicates the shield employed in driving a tunnel 2 thetimber shell composed ofwooden cants, 3"tl1e brick-lining, 4: the. hydraulic jacks bearing against the timber. shell and employed'for advancing the shield, and 5 a platform traversingtheshield and adapted to support the workmen. 8 indicates the draw knife whichI ,prefera ably employ intunnel work construction, the same" comprising a curved cutter 9 of sub stantiallysemi-circular form having handles 10-10 secured to the ends thereof and also 1 having a cross-bar 11 connecting the free ends; ofxthe cutter and bridging the same. The ends ofthe cross-bar may be passed through apertures 1n the cutting knife and headed over. Secured to the knifeis a cable attachment, preferably having apair of diverging arms 13 looped around the barll, fat'their outer ends. and having at their point of intersection an eye ,14 adaptedfor the reception of a rope or cable 12. The bar 11 .ispreferably formed with offset or bent pori be alternately retracted so as to draw said knife across the face of the cutting and released to permit the resetting of the knife, said mechanism being actuated by liquid pressure conveyed to and from the same by means of the pipes 16.

Described in detail, my excavator consists, in its preferred form, of a substantially fiat base member 20 provided with a plurality of preferably integral lugs or bosses 21 adapted to receive and securely hold the cylinder 22 of a hydraulic jack which is preferably provided with laterally extending integral bosses 21 adapted to be received therebetween and to be clamped into place by plates 23. Said base member is also provided with an elongated abutment or seat 24: also integral therewith and adapted for the reception of the rack guide 25. The base member is further provided with an integral upright stud 26, a valve casing 27, and securing bosses 28. The hydraulic jack is illustrated in detail in Fig. 14 and consists of a cylinder 22 having one end closed by a plug 30 and havingin the opposite end a stuffing gland 31. A piston 32 is slidably mounted in the cylinder and carries a piston r0d33, the latter preferably being of a size to fill almost completely the cylinder bore. Leakage past the plug 30 and piston 32 is prevented byimeans of packings 84: of the usual or any convenient type, and pressure fluid is admitted to either side of the piston through the ports 35 and 35 respectively. Secured to the port 35 is a pipe 36 leading to one side of the valve casing 27 and secured in the port 35 is a second pipe 37 leading to the opposite'side of the valve casing. Tapped into one side of said valve casing at different levels at a point midway between the pipes 36 and 37 are the inlet and outlet pipes 38 and 391 c spectively, and rotatably mountedin said casing is a valve plug 40. Said valve plug has a central longitudinal aperture 41-1 com municating with a pair of spaced radial passageways 42 and 42 at the same level as the inlet pipe, and with a second pair of radial passages 43 and 43 at'the same level as the outlet pipe. The passageways 4-3 and 43 are so arranged as to be" brought into register with the pipes 36 and 37, re-

spectively, at the same time that the passageways 42 and 12* are brought into the register with the inlet pipe 38. The side of the plug 40 is also formed with a groove or passageway 44 adapted to place the pipe 39g-in communication with that one of the handle 45 by tated from side'to side so as to admit the pipes 36 or 37 which is not at the time covered by one of the ports l3 or 13 The passageways 12 and 42 are preferably spaced apart by a thickness of-metal sufficient to cover the end of the inlet pipe 38 and prevent the access of water to i the mechanism when the valve is in central position. The valve'plug is provided with a means of which it can be rowater alternately to opposite sides of the piston 32 and place the opposite side thereof causing a reciprocation thereof.

Reference has already been made to a rack guide 25 This guide preferably consists of an elongated hollow casting having diametrically opposite grooves 5050 adapted for the reception of the sides of a slidable bar 51 and having a portion of one side between said grooves cut away to form a longitudinal slot 52 and having the side opposite said slot grooved as at 53. Carried by one face of the bar 51 and prefer ably integral therewith is a head 54: having apair of spaced fingers 55 adapted to engage opposite sides of the head 56 carried by the piston rod33. The opposite side of the bar 51 is formed with rack teeth 57 as shown in Figszl and 16. The direction of the grooves 50 is made rigidly parallel with the axis of the cylinder 22, the slotted side of the guide 25 being braced against the seat 241. The side of the guide opposite the slot 52 is provided with spaced attaching brackets 58 which are secured to the base member 20, and the bottom thereof is cut away at intervalsas at 58 forming projections 60 adapted to be received into apertures 59 formed'in the base plate 20 whereby shifting of the rack guide is absolutely prevented; The rear side of said guide isalso cut away as at 61 to expose the rack teeth, such cut awayv portion being disposed exactly opposite the stud 26 as illustrated in Fig. 4.

Rotatably sleeved upon the stud 26 is a spur gear having teeth 71 meshing with the rack teeth 57. Secured to the side of this gear in any convenient manner, as by bolts or clutch teeth is a drum 73, said drum having a diameter considerably greater than thatof the gear and overlapping the guide 25 and cylinder 22. This drum is preferably 1 formed with a grooved periphery as shown at 74:, and is surrounded by a closely fitting channelshaped guard 75 having an opening 76 opposite the rear end of the base niember. Secured to the periphery of the drumin any suitable or convenient man ner is one end of the rope or cable 12 which passes, thence through the opening 76,

around the pulley block 77 suitably secured to a boss 78 carried by said base member, and thence passing to its connection with in communication with the outlet pipe, thus the draw knife 8 above described. The entire base member and all the operating parts are covered and housed'in by a flat rectangular cover 80, said cover havingan opening 81 at one end to permit the passage of the cable 12, a slot or notch 82 at the other end for the pipes 38 and 39, and a slot 83 for thevalve handle 45. Preferably this cover is otherwise imperforate in order to excavator .as adapted for use in caisson material being excavated.

work. In this case, the excavator 15 is secured preferably in a vertical position to the side wall 1 slightly above the surfaceof the bottom thereof. A draw knife 8 of the same. general character is employed and is operated by the cable 12 in the same manner, the only difference being that the handles 10 "of the draw knife are secured at the opposite side thereof from the cable, the tool being employed much like a plow. In fact, in some cases, a plow can be employed with advantageous results, and I do not propose to limit myself to the use of the tools shown herein.

For use in tunnel work, I prefer to use water as-the motive fluid from the fact that water under high pressure is almost always available for the purpose of operating the jacks 4. usually employed deliver water up pounds per square inch, ample power is always available for the operation of the knife. In the present instance I have illustrated the diameter of the drum as three times that of the gear, though it is obvious that this proportion may be varied depending upon the length ofthe cut desired, the length of stroke of the jack piston, the diameter of the jack cylinder, and the pressure of the motive fluid. Furthermore, it is obvious that in some cases the cable 12 could be attached directly to the piston rod," although the length of the stroke of the latter is impractically short unless the cylinder be made of inconveniently great length.

For use in caisson workI prefer to emin this connection will to a pressure of 6000 "ploy acylinder and piston of somewhat greater size and operate the same by, air pressure which ismore frequently available in this kind of work than water pressure, the arrangement, of rack, cylinder, and

drum being the same as that above (16 scribed.

It will be seen that the operation of the device is entirely under control of the attendant through the valve handle a5 and the speed of retraction of the cable can be regulated according to the hardness of the "The return with the pulley 77; only Inasmuch as the pumps it is obvious thatv movement of the rackand drum is positive thereof, the" amount ofwfiuid employed being very small because of the comparatively great size of the piston rod It is expected the workmen will return the tool with suflicient speed to keep the cable fairly taut althoughithe guard 7 5 will prevent the cable TfI'OlH leaving the groove ofthe drum in case-the workmen fail to keep the same tight.

as in the case of the forward movement f whilst have necessarily described may be positively included in the claims invention in detail, I do .not propose 'to bed limited tosuch details, except as the same hereto annexed or may be rendered neces saryby the prior state of the art.:

. ;Having thus described my lIlV6I 1l31011", Wll2 Lt I claim is:

1. In a tunneling device, the combination, with a shield, of a pulley secured to said shield at a point substantially in the plane of the surfaceof the cutting definedthereby, a flexible tension member passing around said pulley,an earth dislodgingtool attached to one end of said tension member and power operated mechanism for alternatelypulling upon and releasing the opposite end of said tension member.

2. In a tunneling device, the combination, with a shield having a diametricalqsupport extending from side to side, of a pulley carried by said support adjacent to the surface of the cutting defined by said shield, flexible tension means passing around said pulley, an earth one end of said tensionineans, operated mechanism for alternately pulling in and releasing the opposite end of said -05 tension means.

8 .In a tunneling device, the combination, with a shield having a diametrical support extendingfrom side to side thereof, ofa pulley secured .to said'support at a point adjacent to the surface of the cutting defined bysaid shield, a fluid pressure cylinder secured to said support and having its axis substantially parallel with the' axis of said shield, a flexible tension member passingaround said pulley, an earth dislodging dislodging tool secured to and power I tool carried by one end of said member,

means operatively connecting the opposite end of-said .member to the piston of said cylinder, and means causing the-reciprocation of said piston soasalternately to re-. tract and release said tension member.

4. In a tunneling with a shield having a substantially horizontal platform extending from side to side thereof, a fluid pressure operated cylinder 3 carried by said platform and having a piston, means for governing the admission of device, the combination, w

fluid to said cylinder so as to cause the reciprocation of said piston, a'fiexible tension member operatively connected to said piston and an earth dislodging tool secured to said tension member and arranged to be drawn across the face of'the cutting upon the movement of said" piston in the appropriate direction. v

5. In a device of thecharacter described, the combination, with a cylindrical excavating member having its forward edges formed to cut the earth into which it is driven, and means for advancing the same in the direction parallel to its axis, of a fluid pressure cylinder carried by said cylindrical .member in a position parallel to the axis thereof, and having a piston a pulley supported 'ber in a planeadjacent to the surface of the cuttingdefined thereby, a flexible te f I said tension member, means operatively 00%- end of said tension mem- ;ber to said piston, and means for governing the admission of fluid to said cylinder so as to reciprocate said piston.

In testimony whereof, Ihereunto aifix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

IVAN A; GREENWOOD.

necting the other Witnesses HAROLD E. SMITH,

by said cylindrical mem- BRENNAN B. VEST.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for-five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

" Washington, 12.0." 

